John Lackey

The Angels, as expected, offered arbitration on Tuesday to pitcher John Lackey and third baseman Chone Figgins, assuring them of maximum draft-pick compensation should the free agents sign elsewhere. But in something of a surprise, the team did not offer arbitration to veteran reliever Darren Oliver, the 39-year-old left-hander who was 5-1 with a 2.71 earned-run average in 63 games last season, when he earned $3.665 million. The Angels also did not offer arbitration to outfielder Vladimir Guerrero, so they will not receive a draft pick should the 35-year-old slugger depart after six years in Anaheim.

Matt Holliday is not coming. Jason Bay might be coming. John Lackey and Chone Figgins are not coming back -- not together, anyway. Those were the highlights of the state of the Angels address delivered by owner Arte Moreno on Thursday, after baseball's owners concluded their meetings here. The free-agent shopping season opens today, with owners citing an uncertain economic forecast in suggesting players might linger on the market well into the winter. Yet Moreno left one thing absolutely certain: The Angels have no interest in outfielder Matt Holliday, perhaps the best position player available in free agency.

Reporting from Boston -- John Lackey does not seem bitter about his departure from the Angels after 7 ÃÅ years because they "definitely made a run to try to keep me, for sure," he said. But the former Angels ace, who will face his old teammates for the first time in Fenway Park on Wednesday night, couldn't help but notice some irony in the Angels' failure to match the Boston Red Sox 's bid for his services last winter. "It is different," Lackey said, when asked about the Angels' tendency to let their own veterans leave as free agents.

Boston Red Sox pitcher John Lackey returned to his locker Friday to find a text message that made him grin wide and respond quickly. Angels ace Jered Weaver may be Lackey's opposing pitcher Sunday night, but the friendship rooted in their past as teammates still runs deep. Lackey was on the short list of friends and family who received the text from Weaver on Friday that his wife, Kristin , had just delivered a baby, Aden David Weaver , 8 pounds, 21 inches long.

An Angels camp that has been buoyed by the uplifting story of Kelvim Escobar's remarkable recovery from shoulder surgery was hit by a double dose of bad news Wednesday. Ace John Lackey was shut down because of elbow tightness, an injury that could jeopardize his opening-day start against Oakland on April 6. And Torii Hunter was knocked out of Wednesday's 18-11 exhibition victory over Colorado in the first inning when Jeff Baker's long drive hit the wall and caromed into Hunter's nose.

Torii Hunter was unaware of the reports that free-agent pitcher John Lackey was on the verge of signing a five-year deal with the Boston Red Sox when a reporter phoned him Monday morning. "Oh man," the Angels center fielder said. "That's not good." But, Hunter pointed out, at least the Angels were still in the hunt for Toronto ace Roy Halladay, "and if we get Halladay, it would be awesome," he said. A few hours later, the Blue Jays reportedly agreed to a blockbuster three-team deal that would send Halladay to Philadelphia.

Monday through Thursday: Red Sox at Boston Friday through Sunday: Mariners at Seattle This is the week for fans who voted thumbs down on the Angels off-season. John Lackey is scheduled to face Joel Pineiro in Boston on Wednesday, matching last year's Angels ace against the veteran who replaced him in the starting rotation. Lackey is 2-1 with a 4.50 earned-run average for the Boston Red Sox; Pineiro is 2-3 with a 5.76 ERA for the Angels. In Seattle, the Angels and new third baseman Brandon Wood (.176 through Friday, one home run, two walks, 21 strikeouts, five errors)

John Lackey is out there. So is Roy Halladay. The Angels could use either one. "Or do both," Torii Hunter said. We laughed. He was not kidding. "I want to do both," he said. "Why not be greedy and do both?" We hadn't really thought about that, any more than we had thought about the Angels signing Jason Bay and Matt Holliday. Too expensive, too implausible, too fanciful. Yet, for a pitching-first team desperate to return to the World Series, Hunter might have stumbled onto an intriguing solution: Beat the New York Yankees at your game, not theirs.

Staff writer Mike DiGiovanna examines five issues facing the Angels as they head into the winter meetings, which begin today in Indianapolis. (Keys in boldface correspond to boldface in lineup): Ace in the hole The top priority is to fill the void at the front of the rotation , at the top of the team's list are John Lackey, the free-agent right-hander who has been an Angels mainstay since 2003, and Roy Halladay, the Toronto Blue Jays right-hander who has been a trade target since last July.